8mm tape colour diagonal interference?

[rhs6155]

Hi all,

My Dad recently found his old 8mm tape and camera with footage I really want to save and digitise.

I have the camera (the same one that was used to record onto the tapes) hooked up via RCA to a DVD recorder that is then plugged into my TV. There’s quite a bit of picture jumping when viewing the footage on the camera viewfinder but when plugged into the DVD recorder, it somehow fixed that jumping.

The main problem though is this diagonal colour interference that appears throughout a fair bit of one video cassette. What’s strange is that when originally playing this tape, the interference didn’t appear, but after playing another tape, it’s been showing this interference on both tapes periodically. This shows up on the TV as well as the viewfinder on the camera itself so I think it’s fair to eliminate the DVD recorder or RCA cables as the cause of the issue? At first I thought of the reading head causing the problem but the interference isn’t constant.

I’ve attached a clip I recorded of the screen, hope anyone can help me figure out what might be causing this and find a solution.

Many thanks!

[timtape]

I wouldnt be playing valuable (only copy) tapes on gear unless that gear was in top working condition. That's not so easy these days as the cameras and players havent been made for many years. Certain internal components of camcorders can deteriorate just with age even if not used, and tiny amounts of dirt in the wrong places can cause picture and sound problems, even no picture or sound. You may need to have the camera checked and serviced by a competent technician, or purchase another which has been.